Trust built by helping people one operation at a time

Photo By Spc. Alexis Harrison | Thanks to hard work by the artillerymen from the 2nd "Black Jack" Brigade Combat Team, 1st Cavalry Division, the Jaysh Al Mahdi-controlled neighborhood has flourished.  

BAGHDAD, IRAQ

09.04.2007

Story by Spc. Alexis Harrison 

2nd Armored Brigade Combat Team, 1st Cavalry Division Public Affairs

By Spc. Alexis Harrison
2nd Brigade Combat Team, 1st Cavalry Division Public Affairs

BAGHDAD, Iraq – When the 3rd Battalion, 82nd Field Artillery Regiment first started patrolling Qadisiyah a few months ago, they immediately noticed something wasn't right in one neighborhood.

Although not uncommon, the Soldiers were not immediately accepted into the Jaysh Al Mahdi-controlled neighborhood of Shi'a residents.

Through persistence, the area has begun to flourish thanks to hard work by the artillerymen from the 2nd "Black Jack" Brigade Combat Team, 1st Cavalry Division. Now that the foundations of trust have been created by the troops, the time to start giving back to the more impoverished people was upon them.

In an operation that combined the might of the Battery A, "Gators" of 3-82 FA, a team of civil affairs Soldiers from the 422nd Civil Affairs Battalion currently attached to the field artillery unit and the Black Jack Brigade's surgeon, the residents of the poorest area in Qadisiyah were given a chance to get much-needed medical help.

The troops located a narrow strip of road running along a brick wall known as "squatters' alley," named aptly because of its composition of makeshift huts inhabited by people with nowhere else to go.

The battery of artillerymen, a few members of the brigade and the small team of civil affairs practitioners set up a small clinic to not only treat a few people but to ensure future operations can go on without incident.

"There have been no hostile actions against us in this area," said Maj. Wes Stewart, a team leader with the 422nd Civil Affairs Battalion attached to the field artillery regiment. "The battalion has a good rapport with these people and we want to keep it that way by providing these types of services from time-to-time."

Almost 80 people ranging from newborn babies to elderly residents were seen by members of the brigade. The brigade's surgeon, Lt. Col. Margret Merino and Capt. Leon Richardson, the 3-82 "Red Dragons" physician's assistant, were the primary caregivers for the operation.

Merino, a Buffalo, N.Y., native, specializes in pediatrics, therefore allowing her to give the young children seen a little more specialized care.

"The kids that were seen had minor eye, ear, throat and respiratory infections," said Merino. "A few had malnutrition and vitamin deficiencies. For this operation there were more kids than past operations that I have been on. The ailments were similar though."

For many of the people who arrived to the makeshift clinic, this was a rare opportunity to be seen by someone in the medical field. Many can't afford the cost of heath care and even if they could, the local hospitals are overflowing with patients.

"Those who need serious attention we have to refer to the hospitals to get further testing," Merino said. "Some people had come with test results from hospitals and were asking for another opinion. Some people asked about medication to help with grief and shock from violence. Many of the women said their husbands had been killed."

"It is very difficult to get into hospitals here," said one person waiting in line to be seen. "Even if we make the journey to the hospital, we might not be seen because we are Shi'a and there are sometimes terrorists waiting for us. The Americans are helping our communities when they come. We are thankful for them."

While many inside the small house were being seen, dozens of curious children from the neighborhood gathered around the Soldiers to ask for candy or a football.

The battery commander, Capt. Don Cherry, said that having operations like the medical clinic and humanitarian aid missions done in the past are good ways to influence the people in the neighborhoods to help the coalition forces root out terrorists and bring higher-level projects into the area like water, electricity and general neighborhood improvements.

Many thanks were given to the troops who came out for the small medical mission by people in the neighborhood and people who had been seen.

• Date Taken: 09.04.2007
• Date Posted: 09.04.2007 14:56
• Story ID: 12170
• Location: BAGHDAD, IQ